With Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari in 2025, Mercedes will have a seat vacant on their team. Among the many names that have been reported to replace the seven-time world champion, one of them is Andrea Kimi Antonelli. However, F1 expert Simon Lazenby believes that Mercedes’ decision to sign the 17-year-old will depend upon how ‘new leader’ George Russell performs in 2024.
While speaking on the most recent episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Lazenby said, “I think Mercedes and for him [Russell], they have a really important first half of the season. If he can go toe-to-toe with Lewis, establish himself as true number one, maybe they take a risk on Kimi Antonelli.”
If not Antonelli, there are also some other alternative options that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff could consider. One of them is double-world champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard could be a strong option as Wolff might not risk bringing a rookie right after Hamilton’s departure and suffer from a lack of an experienced driver behind the wheel.
On the other hand, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon’s names also came up as potential replacements. However, according to experts, Mercedes will either sign Antonelli or Alonso for 2025.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is a star for the future
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is an Italian prodigy who is all set to compete in F2 this year with Prema Racing. The talented young star arrived in F2 right after he won the Formula Regional European Championship. What is most fascinating about the 17-year-old’s career trajectory is that he will skip F3 altogether when he competes in F2 this season.
Experts believe that the young Antonelli has been the only talent who has grabbed as much attention as Max Verstappen did nine years ago. The Dutchman was just 17 years old when he made his debut with Torro Rosso in 2015.
BTS with Kimi Antonelli as he gives us a complete tour of the @PREMA_Team garage on our first @Formula2 test day of the season!#bts #f2 #kimiantonelli #garagetour pic.twitter.com/xFpq7a4LIK
— PREMA (@PREMA_Team) February 11, 2024
While Antonelli may not get to debut as early as Verstappen because of a FIA rule, he could feature on the 2025 grid. After Verstappen’s debut in the sport at the age of 17, the motorsports governing body made it compulsory that every driver needs to be at least 18 years old to hold an FIA Superlicense and join F1.
However, for Antonelli to make his F1 debut in 2025 with Mercedes, George Russell’s performance this season could be the key as Simon Lazenby pointed out. In case the Briton cannot showcase that he is ready to take up the responsibilities of being a team leader, Mercedes may fear risking signing an inexperienced driver like Antonelli.
